Thursday, September 28 – Thursday would be my only full day in Rome, and since neither Jenn nor I had any particular stops in mind, we wound up just walking about the city for the day. We had a lot of fun, starting our day by heading via Piazza del Campidoglio (told you we went back in the daytime!) to the Pantheon – always an awe-inspiring site.
Just outside that landmark, we took a recommendation from Rick Steeves to grab a coffee at La Casa del Caffè Tazza d’Oro. Or, more specifically, to grab a granita di caffe con panna – a cold coffee-slush drink with whipped cream. It was yummy!
I was happy for Jenn’s knowledge of coffee culture in Italy, however, because I would not have known otherwise that the way it works is for the customer to go to the cashier, pay for what they want, then head to the coffee bar and drink your coffee… standing at the bar!
Seems civilized enough but quite different from how things work in Canada.
All proceeded to plan at first. We got ourselves stuck in at the bar, where there was a decent amount of space available. But shortly after we got our drinks, the place filled up with a large tour group of about 20 people.
That SHOULD not have been a problem, but they all decided they need to be crammed up at the bar. So instead of waiting back a ways while the barista prepared their 20 drinks, they all pushed in, crowding our personal space, leaning over top of us to snap photos of the counters behind the bar and elbowing Jenn in the process!
While the tour group was generally causing havoc, we did NOT let them rush us. We stood our ground.
When we finished up and turned to go, Jenn caught the eye of a young couple seated nearby at the back of the shop. They were equally unimpressed by the unruly horde and there was a clear sense of camaraderie and agreement that the tour group had disrupted what would have otherwise been a delightful morning coffee.
Photos below are mostly from Piazza di Campidoglio and inside the café.
Safarii 